Tales of the Tenth
by lynsolo
Summary: A series of short oneshots focusing on Team Ten generes will vary
1. rumors

**A/N: This is my first attempt at ShikaIno; please don't be too hard on me.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto ain't mine.**

"How troublesome," Shikamaru sighed as Ino attempted to get him to sit up.

"Sit up, you lazy ass, there's something that I want to talk to you about!" Ino whined in an attempt to get him to sit up.

"I'm listening," Shikamaru encouraged, tearing his gaze away from the clouds and focusing instead on Ino.

Ino looked away from his steady gaze for a second before explaining her situation, "I heard some people talking a couple days ago. They mentioned your name. I didn't think anything about it until I overheard Tenten and Sakura talking earlier today. Tenten said that she had heard from Lee who heard from Naruto that you like me. Is that true? Do you really like me?"

Shikamaru's cheeks colored slightly and he looked away from Ino. "Yes," he admitted, sounding like a child that had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Ino smiled and lay down next to Shikamaru, snuggling up next to him. "Good, 'cause I like you, too," she whispered.

Shikamaru smiled contentedly as he thought, _It was a great idea to start that rumor; I should have told Naruto sooner!_


	2. Dolls, Lines, and Complaints

**I own nothing**

"Oh, I'm so excited!" Ino squealed as she dragged an unwilling Shikamaru and a willing Chouji to stand in line with her at the toy store.

"Why are you forcing _us_ to come with you? What about Sakura or Hinata? Couldn't they have come with you?" Shikamaru whined.

"Sakura is on a mission and Hinata's father won't let her collect dolls," Ino retorted quickly. "And I hate standing in lines like this by myself."

At this point, Shikamaru, who had decided that it was pointless to argue, sighed and mumbled a well-hidden "Mendokusai."

After about ten minutes, Shikamaru noticed that, unlike himself, Chouji had not tried to sneak away from Ino at all. "Chouji, why are you still in this line? You could have escaped at least twelve times already!" Shikamaru hissed to the rotund boy.

"Shikamaru, Shikamaru…I thought you knew me better than that," Chouji drawled with mock disappointment.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru questioned.

"You should know that I can't resist a Barbie queue!" Chouji stated matter-of-factly.

At this, Ino giggled, "You two are so silly!" While Shikamaru slapped a palm to his forehead and groaned.


	3. Breakfast

"Are you sure it's mine?" Shikamaru asked skeptically.

"That time on the mission was my first time; you were my first, Shikamaru," Ino replied, sincerity evident in her voice and etched on her face.

"I thought we had decided to put that behind us and remain friends for now."

"I thought so too, but sometimes things like this just happen," Ino explained quietly as the waitress set a pot of coffee and two cups on the table.

Shikamaru mumbled a thank you and poured himself a cup of coffee. Ino watched as he prepared the hot drink the way he always did. He poured the milk for precisely three seconds. Next, he dumps in four spoonfuls of sugar and stirs in a fifth. The spoon then goes around the cup three times each way, clockwise then counter-clockwise.

He lifted the cup tentatively to his lips and took a small sip. He drank the coffee as if he was more than ready to leave the coffee shop, placing the empty cup on the table affluently. All of this Shikamaru did without speaking to Ino.

Out of habit, Shikamaru lit a cigarette. He puffed on it, blowing the smoke above Ino's head as he normally did so she would not be forced to breathe it. Shikamaru gently tapped the ashes into the ash tray every few minutes while Ino sat in mental agony. She could not comprehend how he managed to not only not speak to her for the ten minutes it took him to smoke the cigarette but to also avoid her gaze and not look at her all.

Ino was startled out of her thoughts when Shikamaru stood up to leave. She watched him put on the hat and raincoat he had been wearing when he came in. It had been raining when they both arrived, and it still was. Shikamaru left the coffee shop; without saying good-bye, without even looking at Ino.

Ino was flabbergasted. She had not expected Shikamaru to react like that; to completely shut her out like that. Not knowing what else to do, Ino put her head in her hands and cried. "I'm so scared, Asuma-sensei. What am I going to do?" she pleaded silently though her tears.

-End-

A/N – Based on the French poem "Déjuner du Matin" by Jacques Prévert (1949).


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